Researchers at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, have determined from a recent study that breast cancer screening is beneficial to women up through age 75. Results of the study demonstrate that the benefits to women through age 75 are substantial enough to outweigh concerns regarding over-diagnosis or treatment.

The results were presented last week at the 6th Annual Breast Cancer Conference in Berlin, Germany. The study by Erasmus Senior Researcher Jacques Fracheboud and colleagues found a significant decline in breast cancer deaths in the five years after the screening was extended to women aged 70-75. The mortality for the women in the 70-75 age group in 2006 was nearly 30% lower than average compared to a previous time period of 1986-1997. The 2006 group had 117 deaths per 100,000 compared to 166 per 100,000 in 1986-1997.

In the 70-75 age group around 16 per 1,000 women screened were referred for further diagnostic assessment. Of those women, breast cancer was diagnosed in around 8 per 1,000, giving a positive predictive value of 47%. Mr. Fracheboud explained that breast tissue is less dense in older women, assisting in screening and diagnosis. Beyond the age of 75, screening is less beneficial as the tumors would be slow-growing and unlikely to be problematic. For the 70-75 year age group, the detection of cancer and the decline in mortality showed that screening is a strongly effective health measure.
In the United States, mammography clinical trials generally have an upper age limit for screening of 64-74 years, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

In a related study presented at the Conference, the U.K. Breast Screening Frequency Trial of around 100,000 women between 50 and 62 years of age compared yearly intervals for breast cancer screening to three year intervals. The thirteen-year study and comparison of women in the three-year screening group and the annual screening group found no statistically significant risk of death from breast cancer, according to study author Professor Roger Blamey, breast surgeon at Nottingham City Hospital in the U.K.

More information available at: http://www.ecco-org.eu/

More Industry Headlines